


never thought, but knew

by navaan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Curses, De-Serumed Steve Rogers, First Kiss, Fix-It, Flash Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Magic, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Romance, Time Travel, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:37:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: A man waits for him in a dark corridor. But it can't be Steve, because he's on the other side of the world.





	never thought, but knew

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Cap IM Tiny RB Round 3: Timely](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11501994) by [cap_ironman_event_mod](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cap_ironman_event_mod/pseuds/cap_ironman_event_mod). 



> Written as a TRB fill for TIMELY and a Bingo fill for the "super soldier serum" field on my Bingo card.

He stepped through the reporters and waved at the crowd behind them. He was glad when the elevator doors closed behind him and he could take a moment to take a breath. Spider-Man's involvement in the recent Seattle incident hadn't gone unnoticed and Tony had expected the rising interest in the kid. But Peter had made a choice and Tony wasn't sue that he would have made the same grown-up decision at his age and now it was up to Tony to shield him from the questions. Spider-Man would become an Avenger when he was ready.

When he arrived at his floor, he was still pondering Peter and how he could go on shielding him from the unpleasant sides o being a hero. The Daily Bugle seemed to have it in for him, publishing one negative article after another. Tony had even considered just buying the damn paper to shut up the haters there.

He was so deep in thought, as he fished his hotel key card from his suit jacket, that he didn't even notice the small man approaching him from the opposite side of the hallway.

"To... Mr. Stark," the man said nervously and Tony's head snapped up.

He had booked the whole floor. Someone having waited here for him probably meant nothing good. But the blonde guy didn't seem at all like a threat. He was scrawny and sickly pale and he was carrying a bouquet of red roses.

"You're not hiding a gun in the flowers I hope? That's not the kind of mess I have time for now or ever."

The man froze, looked at the flowers and then shook his head. "Is that the kind of thing that happens to you often?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes. So who are you? What do you want? How many security people will get fired over your being up here?"

Taken aback the man just stood there in the half-light and watched as Tony didn't even give him a second glance, but instead made to open the door of his suite. 

"For someone who thinks I have a gun hidden in a bunch of flowers, you act a little too unconcerned." There was just the slightest hint of amusement in the voice and something about that was familiar. 

"It's Thursday. I always get away unscathed on Thursdays," Tony said and peeked over his shoulder. "You might not have heard, but I'm Iron Man."

"I have heard," the man said and thrust the flowers towards him. Tony made a surprised step back. "These are for you."

"For me?"

"I... These are for you."

"You're married." Tony noticed the ring on the finger and it said much about his life that his first thought was that he might have caused the death of the man's wife - in New York, in Sokovia, hell she might have been a soldier or civilian in any sort of military operation across the globe that had involved Stark tech. "Shouldn't you be with your wife?"

"Husband," the man said.

 _Ah,_ Tony thought. _So what did I do to the poor husband?_

"Look at me," the man said - and usually that was how it started. People wanted to be acknowledged before they exacted their revenge. 

Because it was the only courtesy he could offer, Tony looked at his face and they stared at each other. 

"I need you to listen to me."

And finally something about that sank in.

The voice, the tone... "Steve?" He squinted.

It was a ridiculous thought. Although, yes, Tony had to admit he looked a lot like what Steve had looked like in the bits and pieces of pre-serum footage Tony had seen of him - but Steve and his rouge band of former Avengers had been in Madripoor just an hour ago. He _knew_ because he fucking _kept tabs_ on them in case Ross decided to make a move or something big went down and Steve got in over his head... This _couldn't_ be Steve.

But the eyes suddenly flooded with relief and hope.

"You're not Steve. Shape changer? Inhuman or mutant? Alien?"

"What? No!" The man looked exasperated - exactly like Steve - just _wrong_. "I'm Steve... I... It's complicated."

"Uh-huh," Tony said and pushed a button on the watch to make sure the armor was close-by.

"You don't need to call the armor, Tony. I'm not.." he winced, "going to hurt you."

"No shit," he said and looked Steve over. "Steve would. And how can it be you? Last time I checked you were across the globe and a 220 lbs hunk of male perfection."

Steve swallowed, but then laughed. "Male perfection? And here I thought this was hopeless at this point in time."

"What?" Tony still waited for the other shoe to drop.

"I'm not from here," he said. "Not from _right now_."

Things clicked in his mind.

"Past? How do you know...?"

"Future," Steve said.

Steve had gotten married in the future. Figured.

God, what a stupid thought.

Why _shouldn't_ he get married in the future?

"I got hit by magic. And... the curse... It can only get lifted by true love's kiss."

"Very fairy-tale. And you want me to find your wife?" Then the other detail clicked into place. "Husband." He swallowed.

"Husband," Steve agreed, "yes. But no. I already know where he is." His stare was just a little too intense. "I never knew what had changed for you when we started working together again. You were more relaxed and less prickly around me and after all that had happened between us, it was just so... amazing and _new_ to flirt without any tension. I never asked you what you knew that I didn't. But you knew my feelings before I ever got to tell you, didn't you?" Steve chuckled and wriggled his ring finger at him. "Because of this?"

"I don't..." _love you_ \- but that was a lie, wasn't it?

His eyes widened when that sank in. 

"Thank you, Tony," Steve said and leaned up. "For everything you did until now and everything you'll do to make my life brighter from here. I never thought I could have that."

Tony was still just flabbergasted and frozen in place. Virtual reality. Dream state. Magic. Alien shapeshifter. All the possibilities ran through his mind and for some reason seemed more likely than time travel. What did that say about the state of the world?

Steve's lips touched his and he held his breath. The angle... It was all wrong. Nothing like he had ever imagined. Not that he _had_ imagined this. He would never have dared. 

Who was he kidding?

Steve kissed him, crushing the roses between them as he leaned closer and held on to Tony's shoulder and Tony was not paying attention here. Otherwise why would he not push him away, tell him to fuck off or get arrested.

Ring.

There was a ring.

This must be a joke.

But he kissed back. Desperate as he was for real human contact, perhaps that could be excused.

But it couldn't.

And as his thoughts kept racing and he mumbled, "Steve", against dry, nervous lips, closed his eyes to just forget about the strange wrong reality of this moment and imagine it was all true, something in the kiss changed, as Steve got more forward and Tony finally made his thoughts shut up and - something shifted - and the kiss got more heated and arms came around him to hold him... Strong arms.

By the time his mind got back online he realized that he was leaning up now and Steve was holding him, tipped back like they were frozen in a dance. He turned his head away to break the kiss and Steve let him. 

"If I were an alien shapeshifter," Steve breathed, "my clothes would have changed with me." And as he stepped back, Tony realized that they indeed looked all wrong now, as Steve nearly burst out of the pants and shirt. 

He swallowed. "You're really you."

"Yeah," he admitted. "The witch thought it was funny to send me back here, so I couldn't just go home and kiss my husband and be me again."

"Husband," Tony repeated and stared.

"Curse is broken now. You recognized me. You believed me." 

"Is it? Broken?"

"Tony? I'll be gone in a second. Be kind to me okay? I'm going to do better by you."

"Better." His brilliant mind had just broken down completely.

"Yeah, better. Don't forget this. Believe in this." Impulsively Steve stepped closer and then kissed his brow and before he knew it, he was standing alone in the hallway. 

"Better. Don't forget," he repeated and stared. "I didn't drink anything, did I?"

His hands were shaking and he let himself into the suite. He needed to check in on Steve and his Avengers and then try to figure out if time travel _was_ an Asgardian thing or otherwise possible and maybe check for that wedding ring.

No.

No. 

There were no wedding rings in his future.

This had all been a dream.

But as he looked back to the hallway, he noticed the red petals on the floor.

How then would he explain that? Petals. Red and there and _real_.

He swallowed.

Perhaps it was time to talk to Steve again after all. There was a phone locked in his desk back in his office after all.

No. That was for emergencies and he was not going to reach out.

Not yet.

He had to think this through.

Give it time.

He stepped out to pick up the rose petals, because he wanted to make sure he could touch them.

Real.

He closed the door and whispered: "I never thought I could have that either, you idiot."

But now.

Now it was hard to think about anything else.

God damn it.


End file.
